In a highly anticipated announcement, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said he would begin 
removing the training wheels from the U.S. economy as soon as November. The pandemic lockdown and subsequent recession in early 2020 led to massive asset purchases by the central bank aimed at keeping the economy from heading over a cliff. Powell said the process of dialing back that government buying spree should be complete by mid-2022. Next year could also see interest rates start to rise again. Here’s how the
markets reacted. —David E. Rovella

Bloomberg is tracking the coronavirus pandemic and the progress of global vaccination efforts.

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Powell had some other things to say, including this about the Evergrande Group crisis in China and
how it affects America, how he can’t shield the economy from damage unless the debt limit is raised, and how his colleagues go about trading stocks. Also on Wednesday,
a moderate Democrat said he urged the White House to renominate Powell, a Republican.

China’s central bank just
pumped $18.6 billion in short-term cash into the financial system as concern over the debt crisis at Evergrande roils global markets. 

In the U.S., a key regulator’s recommendation on the availability of Covid-19 booster shots
is imminent. President Joe Biden called on other nations to help vastly expand production of coronavirus vaccines and treatments in order to end the pandemic. He said the U.S. will buy an additional 500 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech drug for donation abroad. A new study says pregnant women who get mRNA vaccines (such as the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna shots) pass high levels of antibodies to their babies. Australia says it plans to open its borders by Christmas at the latest, unwinding one of the world’s
strictest controls on overseas travel. Here’s the
latest on the pandemic.

There’s no real secret to the success of Diameter Capital Partners, one of the hottest hedge funds in credit investing. Ask co-founders Scott Goodwin and Jonathan Lewinsohn and they’ll tell you it all boils down to a simple maxim: “Know the names.”

Coinbase Global, the operator of a digital-currency exchange that’s faced scrutiny from U.S. regulators, called for rulemakers to provide an “
even playing field” for all financial firms.

Apple will give store employees as much as $1,000 in one-time bonuses next month, a rare move that follows a tumultuous effort to get its retail operations
back on track after pandemic shutdowns.  

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and other Senate Democrats are targeting some of the biggest names behind special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, questioning whether the once red-hot market will trigger huge losses for retail investors.  

What you’ll need to know tomorrow 

Before the vaccination checks, air kisses, borrowed cigarettes, chilled champagne, jumbo shrimp, strip steak and triple-chocolate pots de creme, banker Euan Rellie arranged about 60 place cards himself. The co-founder of investment banking boutique BDA Partners was inside the Waverly Inn’s garden room in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, trying to restart a weeknight dealmaking party in the shadow of Covid.

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